What a terrible experience. I hope you get your $$ back and I hope you kept your Schleese!
[QUOTE=Spanish_DQ;8692815]
Last October, two saddlers came to our farm - Custom Saddlery and Colleen. I was starting to buy from Custom and took a look at what Advanced Saddle Fit/Colleen Meyer had. I decided against going with her back in October because it was obvious that everything she was selling was a wide twist. I’ve ALWAYS needed a narrow twist and prefer a monoflap because it gives me a closer contact with my horse. However, I now have a new PRE stallion who is VERY round and flat front to back. I did want him to be comfortable. So, I got caught up in the bling and designer aspect of Custom Saddlery and ordered from that fitter. I waited three months to get that saddle. It WAS a work of art - just gorgeous, but didn’t remotely fit my horse- rocked around on his back - the tree was all wrong for a horse like mine. However, before I could have the Custom Saddlery fitter back to look at it, on the day I got it, Colleen Meyer was at my barn fitting other horse. She looked at it and in no uncertain terms pronounced it an absolute disaster, told me that there was nothing the Custom Saddlery fitter could ever do to make that thoroughbred tree fit my flat, front to back, horse. I had a 10 day trial on the Custom Saddlery and what I knew to be at risk was my $500 non-refundable deposit and my fitting fee - about $650 altogether. With Colleen’s forceful opinion twisting up my thoughts, I never gave the Custom Saddlery fitter even a chance to fit that saddle to my horse, never even had her out. And naturally that very same day that Colleen trashed that saddle, she proceeded to sell me one of hers - one built on a cob tree, but a twin flap. I rode in the demo for all of 10 minutes and found it to be okay. I was impressed with how good my horse felt in that tree and I was convinced I was doing the right thing, completely forgetting my history in wide trees and twin flap saddles; swept up in Colleen’s conviction that it is ALL about the tree and the horse has to be comfortable first and foremost. I believed in her. To be sure, she also proceeded to trash the saddle that I had at the time - a $5700 2 year old custom made Schleese Link II. She not only trashed the saddle and how they are made, she trashed the tree and Jochen Schleese (I’ve had 3 of his saddles and I believe in him and the research that has gone into how he makes his saddles). But she cast doubt in my mind, nonetheless, to ensure that I didn’t back out of buying a saddle from her. My Link never gave me or my horse a moment’s trouble - I’d just gotten caught up in the designer aspect of the new saddles coming onto the market, which is the only reason I began to cast my eye around at other saddle.
So in February, after returning the Custom Saddlery Advantage R to the fitter and encouraged to take the the hit for $650 on that saddle, I ordered an AST Novio (three independent saddlers making this saddle on a cob tree - I can’t find them anywhere on the internet so don’t know who to contact in order to find them). After a two month wait, it came in April, but I was given the wrong saddle. Colleen delivered a saddle that I hadn’t ordered - wrong leather, wrong color trim, missing the patent leather in the front, though it had it in the back; utterly different saddle from what I’d ordered. I was stunned when she handed it to me and I uncovered it. Other than it being a MW - it wasn’t the saddle I ordered. She didn’t get defensive, she actually got huffy with me and took the saddle from me when I said “this isn’t the saddle I ordered”. That’s when she said “I’ll give you ALL your money back or you can keep this as a loaner while I get you your correct saddle made.” She said that she was going the extra mile to make me whole. I didn’t know what to do at the time…so I was rather cowed by her and went along with her. I didn’t feel I had any choice at the time.
At the same time, a barnmate had wanted to buy my Schleese Link II. During that same visit in April, Colleen (who knew my barnmate wanted my Link) talked her out of it, trashing the saddle, and proceeded to sell her one of her saddles. I had told Colleen the day before that I had a buyer in the barn for my saddle; she told me I was a good customer and she wouldn’t sell this person on one of her saddles. Nonetheless the next day, she not only talked her out of my saddle, but trashed it and sold her one of hers - okay that’s a side story - but goes to character.
So I ride in the “loaner” for three days and immediately send her a text telling her to put my order on hold; that I was experiencing horrible hip pain and didn’t know if I could ride in that wide twist. I went through all the things that people talked about on Chronicle about her - “your horse is difficult to fit and only I can fit him; he needs a cob tree; you, as the rider, just need to suck it up!” I’m a senior rider, but a very active lifelong rider all my life, but I’m sorry flexibility is something that leaves you as you get older. I tried using a foam roller, stretches, pain killers, everything. In sum, I put the new order on hold within three days of the new order being written and totally cancelled the ordeer a couple of weeks later because it was clear to me that I was not going to be able to ride in this saddle. I don’t even know for sure if the order was actually in. We spoke numerous times and I know that the manufacture of my saddle had been stopped and the most that had been done is the leather cut (according to her own words).
After chasing her for three weeks, with no response, I finally got a refund check. I had paid her $4,025 and my refund check was for $3,160 with a memo line reading “less 20% restocking fee.”
For her to charge me a 20% restocking fee for a non-existent saddle is dishonest. I received the wrong saddle; the second order was put on hold within three days, so saddle wasn’t in production. I’ve given her a chance to make this right, but have had no response from her. I won’t take this sitting down. Because of Colleen’s manipulation, I’m out a total of $1500 (the forfeited deposit on the Custom Saddlery saddle of $650 and now she’s trying to take another $900 as a “restocking fee”. She’s sold a lot of saddles at our farm. I’m not going to take this quietly.
I’ve disputed the charges with my credit card company and will not cash her check. If the credit card company doesn’t rule on my side, I will take this to Small Claims. I’m not going to let her ruin my life any more than she’s already down. She’s despicable. And I’m furious that she would have the nerve to do this to me under the circumstances.[/QUOTE]
